About three months ago, I was contacted by a recruiter for Amazon. Yes, that Amazon. The big kahuna. One of the titans of the tech industry. Some emails flew back and forth, some phone interviews occurred, and one in-person interview as well, and shortly after PyCon US 2011 (which was awesome, by the way!) I was made an offer that I couldn't refuse.

So, here I am. In Seattle, a resident of the USA, joined by Char & Matthew in what could be at least described as the most disruptive job change I've ever had.

I've been on the ground here for three weeks, now; today was work day 22 as an Amazonian. In that time, I've come to realize how little I know about certain aspects of the profession I've chosen; the kinds of technical decisions that drive what I do now are so far beyond what I'd done in the past as to feel like a different job. At the same time, I'm coping with leaving behind all of the friends I've painstakingly met and grown to love. It's a challenge.

It's a good thing, I think, and once the major problems that face us due to the move -- selling our house without losing our shirts, finding a nice place to live here -- get out of the way, I think we'll have no trouble finding new friends and common interests. That said, it's not going to be the same. I may, if I'm truly, truly fortunate, find friends that will come to be as important as those I've left behind, but I will never replace them.

I'm hoping that, like the period I spent in school (that spurred the creation of this mode of expression in the first place) I will write more often in this space. I suspect that I've got no readers left, but I'll be trying to remedy that the old-fashioned way. Please, comment often; knowing that people read these -- and having a conversation with them -- will force me to keep writing. And to keep in touch. I need both of these things.